Portkey
by WritingImagination
Summary: Someone uses a portkey to help Hermione Granger escape Malfoy Manor. No one knows for sure who it is - although Narcissa has strong suspicions on who it might be. Hermione is reunited with her saviour at the Battle of Hogwarts, where he fights on her side. [Set during Deathly Hallows]. Dramione. Draco Malfoy / Hermione Granger


**Disclaimer:** This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J. K. Rowling. I do not claim any ownership over any character in this work of fanfiction, nor do I claim any ownership over the Harry Potter world, nor do I claim any ownership over the vocabulary invented by J.K Rowling (including spells, potions' names, etc.). Some parts of this work are specific quotes from J. K. Rowling's book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" - these quotes are indicated by being in italics.

 **Malfoy Manor**

Hermione fainted because of Bellatrix's _Crucio_ spell. Bellatrix turned to Draco and bellowed "Fetch some Veritaserum!"

Bellatrix was too worried about Gryffindor's sword to notice that Draco was uncommonly pale and shaking slightly, although he tried very hard to hide it. Narcissa, however, couldn't help but notice the state her son was in, and she frowned with worry, but remained silent. Draco left and Bellatrix kicked Hermione in the ribs, until she came back to consciousness. Draco returned a minute later, more composed than previously, holding a small vial.

Bellatrix cackled, "Leave the potion on the floor in front of her, you wouldn't want to touch the filthy Mudblood."

Then, Bellatrix pointed her wand at Hermione and shrieked, "Impero!"

Draco lowered the vial to the ground, carefully avoiding Hermione's pain-stricken gaze.

Bellatrix bellowed, "Drink the potion, Mudblood."

Slowly, with trembling hands, Hermione took the vial. She held it in both hands to avoid letting it drop to the ground, since she was shaking so much.

"Faster," snarled Bellatrix, "or the blood traitor is next."

Hermione, under the Imperius curse, drank a little of the potion, but spilled some, because of her shaking hands. Narcissa noticed her son staring intently at the vial. After a few seconds, Bellatrix looked satisfied, and was about to start asking questions, when something unexpected happened.

Hermione felt like she had a hook somewhere behind the navel and then she was no longer in Malfoy Manor. She was in the middle of a field. It took her some time to return to her senses but then she got to her feet and ran, ran, ran. She needed to find someplace safe, someplace far away. She noticed that she was still holding the vial, and she let go of it, as if scared it would take her back to Malfoy Manor. But she knew it wouldn't. This portkey wasn't triggered immediately by a person's touch like the Triwizard Cup. Instead, it was preset to travel to a specific destination, at a specific time, such as the ones used in the Quidditch World Cup. But who had turned the vial into a portkey and when?

Back at Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix stood dumbfounded before letting out a shriek of anger. She turned and violently gripped the collar of Draco's robes. "Did you transform the vial into a portkey?!" she screamed.

"No, of course not!" Draco shouted back angrily, "I didn't do it."

Bellatrix peered intensely into Draco's eyes, then screamed, "Don't you dare use Occlumency against me, I'm the one who taught you!"

Narcissa removed Bellatrix from her son, pulling her away with one hand, and holding her wand ready in the other.

"Cissy, I swear, if it was him, even if he's your son, he's going to pay for it..."

Narcissa spoke in a cold, clear voice. "It wasn't Draco."

But before she could explain herself, there was a loud crack from the cellar.

 _(p.460)_

 _"What was that?" shouted Lucius Malfoy from over their heads. "Did you hear that? What was that noise in the cellar?_

 _Harry and Ron stared at each other._

 _"Draco - no, call Wormtail! Make him go and check!_

 _[...]_

 _Harry and Ron looked at each other, then leaving Wormtail's body on the floor behind them, ran up the stairs and back into the shadowy passageaway leading to the drawing room. Cautiously they crept along it until they reached the drawing room door, which was ajar. Now they had a clear view of Bellatrix... (p.471)_

...staring from Narcissa to Draco and back to Narcissa.

"Who helped the Mudblood get away? Who turned the vial into a portkey?" Bellatrix asked, her voice soft and hissing dangerously.

A split second after Harry and Ron disarmed Draco and Bellatrix, Narcissa created a protection shield in front of Draco, to protect him from all the curses flying about the room, since he was now completely vulnerable without his wand. Lucius raised his wand but it flew up in the air, shortly followed by his wife's wand. Dobby had disarmed both of his previous masters.

He had followed Harry and Ron into the drawing room and had heard everything that was going on, and now he screamed "Dobby helped Miss Granger get away! Dobby brought a wizard from the Order of the Phoenix to the Potions room and the wizard changed the vial into a Portkey! Dobby left again with the wizard, the wand-maker and Harry Potter's friends!"

Dobby held onto Harry and Ron and then all three disappeared.

 _"You dirty little monkey!" bawled Bellatrix._ She now seemed convinced that Dobby was to blame for Hermione Granger's escape. However, her sister Narcissa thought quite differently. But she remained quiet.

Narcissa finally managed to corner Draco, who had been avoiding her since the day of the escape. It had been three days since Granger, Potter and the others had escaped. Draco feared that his mother had guessed everything, and he expected her to ask where the portkey had brought Granger to.

"Draco, why did you do it?" whispered Narcissa.

Draco stared at her silently.

"Do you realise how much danger you've put yourself in? And for what?" Narcissa was careful with how much she divulged, because she feared nothing more than Bellatrix or another Death Eater finding out about the role that Draco had played in the escape.

Draco remained stubbornly silent. What could he say?

"Please promise me you will never do anything of the sort again."

"I can't promise that," replied Draco curtly.

Narcissa's eyes widened. "Draco, I know that you were at Hogwarts with Potter and his friends, but that doesn't mean you should put yourself in danger, especially considering the circumstances, to save any of them. Especially..." she hesitated.

"The Mudblood?" Draco asked, his voice laced of bitterness.

"That's not what I was going to say," replied Narcissa, and it was Draco's turn to be surprised.

Narcissa sighed and continued, "Especially people who were your sworn enemies. Didn't you always hate them, and didn't they hate you?"

Draco shifted uneasily, and stared in empty space, away from his mother's face.

"If you feel like you can't kill them yourself, fine. If you feel like you can't in any way help to keep them prisoners, that's also fine. But to help them - to help them flee from here - knowing the consequences for our family, knowing the wrath of the Dark Lord... but most of all, above all... imagine if, as a punishment, you were killed... imagine how your father and me... how we would feel..."

Narcissa's voice broke off.

Draco whispered, "Don't worry, mother. They would never have suspected me... Aunt Bella just lost her temper after... _she..._ vanished. The portkey escape has been frequently used in the past by the Order of Phoenix members. Just last week, some Muggleborns escaped from Nott's home exactly the way Dobby described it."

Narcissa blanched, "And what if Dobby hadn't appeared? And what if he hadn't decided to take the blame upon himself?"

"I had no idea Dobby would show up. I don't think he even really knew whom he was protecting with his lies, he probably just wanted to save the person he thought was on their side... the person who helped... _Granger_... escape." Draco paused and continued, "If Dobby hadn't shown up... I would probably have freed a house-elf, told them to go into hiding, and everyone would have suspected that elf of getting freed cheatingly like Dobby and then of working for the Order of the Phoenix... or I would have accused Wormtail of wanting to free his old best friend's son and friends... and since it looks like Wormtail committed suicide, it would have seemed plausible that fearing the Dark Lord's wrath, he took his own life..."

Draco's voice grew more and more inaudible. After a short silence, he patted his mother on the shoulder and said, "I would have found a way. And I promise," he hesitated, "that I will not put myself into unnecessary, futile danger."

Narcissa seemed a bit soothed by this, mostly because she didn't hear Draco murmur, as he turned away, "...mostly for your and father's sake rather than my own."

Draco knew perfectly well why he'd helped Granger escape. The Cruciatus curse was something so awful, he couldn't wish anyone to suffer from it. Not even Potter or his friends. But where had he plucked the courage? He remembered Snape saying once, that Dumbledore had suggested that the sorting into different houses was done too quickly. But Draco had been hoping so much that he would go to Slytherin like his parents, the Sorting Hat had barely touched his head before sending him to Slytherin. Perhaps he'd found the courage in the depth of his heart because he couldn't bear to see Granger under the Cruciatus Curse. He remembered how he stood, his heart frozen, trying to maintain an impenetrable face, while he felt so much pain as if it was _him_ suffering from the curse. When he had picked up the Veritaserum, he had tried to keep his brain cool, not to panic, to find a solution. The answer had come almost immediately and Draco had instinctively changed the vial into a Portkey that was going to leave in a few minutes.

He'd sent Granger to an abandoned Quidditch field on which he had once played as a child. He felt reassured in knowing that no one knew about this Quidditch field, since his father had ordered the construction of one close to Malfoy Manor for Draco's tenth birthday, so Draco never brought any friends or talked about the abandoned one, who was quite farther away. Close to the Quidditch field, there was an old wooden house, in which lay an old broom, Draco recalled it was a Cleansweep 3. And there was also an old wand... he had always wondered who the owner of the wand was. He really hoped that Granger would find the wand. He really did.

Hermione had been really glad to discover the broom and more importantly, the wand. She had felt terribly vulnerable without a wand. As soon as she had the wand, she made the vial disappear (it could be used as proof against her saviour) and apparated at the Shell Cottage. She found Harry, Ron and the others already there.

They asked her many questions, mostly about how she had escaped. Hermione explained that she had had no idea that the vial was a portkey, but that she understood shortly after standing up in the field. She asked them who had turned the vial into a portkey, although none of them knew for sure. Harry and Ron explained how they had overheard Bellatrix accusing Draco, Narcissa assuring that Draco was not to blame and then Dobby taking the blame on himself, to preserve from harm whoever at Malfoy Manor had decided to help Hermione.

Ron immediately ruled out that Draco Malfoy would have done such a thing, while Harry seemed slightly more hesitant about condemning Malfoy. Hermione was torn. She couldn't possibly imagine why Draco Malfoy would decide to help her, unless it was a carefully hatched plan, in which case it would have failed since she was now safely at the Shell cottage. On the other hand, Malfoy was not a killer. He was an arrogant, conceited, prejudiced, selfish brat, but he was not a killer. He didn't have his Aunt Bellatrix's cruelty. He wasn't like his father Lucius. She really wanted to believe that'd he done it. It would somehow redeem him and erase the seven years of mutual hatred. And who else could it have been? Who else at Malfoy Manor had entered the Potions room and known that someone would need a Portkey at precisely that moment? And the person must have known all the spells protecting Malfoy Manor from unwanted visitors and preventing prisoners' escapes, as well as how to counter those spells...

Hermione tried to remember exactly what happened. At the time, weakened by the Cruciatus Curse, she had paid little attention to what was going on around her. Now, she concentrated and remembered Bellatrix Lestrange cackling to Draco to put the vial in front of her. She remembered the Imperius Curse, and how she had been too weakened by the Cruciatus Curse to be able to fight it. And then... Draco had avoided looking her in the eyes. She had taken the vial, and had been so concentrated on lifting it to her lips... While she drank some Veritaserum, she had seen Draco's grey eyes stare intently at the vial in her hands. He was definitely expecting something to happen. Also... his grey eyes had an expression that she had already seen before.

Hermione remembered at the Quidditch World Cup, how Malfoy had talked about the Muggle family Roberts being paraded in the air and mocked by Death Eaters. Malfoy had clearly been insulting Hermione, he had jeered at her to keep her "big, bushy head down" unless she wanted to show her knickers like the Roberts mother... Although he had been insulting her, it had also been a warning. A warning that she should hide. Surely, instead of warning Hermione, he could just have told his father that a Muggleborn was there. Draco Malfoy had hidden the warning behind his usual arrogant, insulting self but it had been a warning nonetheless, although Crabbe and Goyle had probably been too stupid to pick it up, and Harry and Ron probably thought Malfoy stupid enough not to be able to hold his tongue. But Draco Malfoy was very far from stupid, he was intelligent and cunning. He chose to let Hermione know that her origins made her a potential victim, while Harry just shouted "Hermione is a witch!". Hermione had known that Malfoy was right, and they had gone, and she had kept a low profile. That night, Draco Malfoy's grey eyes had conveyed the same thing as they had when he stared at the Veritaserum vial. Had it been... worry? Had he worried about her well-being? Had he been trying to protect her in both cases, although hiding it? Hermione pushed the thought away. Perhaps during the Quidditch match, he just couldn't hold his tongue, because he really wanted to offend Hermione and he knew they'd already seen the Death Eaters with the Roberts, as most people had. And perhaps, he didn't know the vial was a portkey and he had just stared at the vial because he wanted to see her answer to questions under the effect of the Veritaserum...

In the wooden house, she had briefly searched for clues as to whom her saviour might have been, but there were none. Except perhaps that the saviour must have been a Quidditch player, how otherwise could they have known about the abandoned field? She briefly thought of Viktor Krum. No, he had no idea where she was.

What if it had been Malfoy? What conclusions should she draw from it? Apparently, he didn't seem to be as prejudiced against Muggleborns as she had thought he had been. And really, Draco Malfoy had inherited all the prejudices from his parents, but surely he was intelligent enough to have formed his own opinion by now... He had always hated and been jealous of Potter, so of course, being the arrogant brat he was, he felt the need to mock and insult Potter and his friends. Hermione had always been impassible to his insults towards herself (although she couldn't keep the anger away when he insulted Hagrid... and she slapped him). She knew his insults were absurd, and she couldn't have cared less about the insults he directed towards her. In fact, she had learned to ignore him... but now? Now, surely, she couldn't ignore him... if he had saved her, and had risked his own neck in the process.

Draco Malfoy had returned to the abandonned Quidditch field two weeks after the escape. The vial and the wand were gone. He couldn't help but sigh with relief. He was also glad but not surprised in the least, that Granger had kept her head clear and had gotten rid of the vial. Draco had used various spells to search for it and there was no trace of it anywhere near the Quidditch field. It would have been quite incriminating if the portkey vial had been found there because Draco would have been the most likely person to know about an abandoned Quidditch field close to his home. Granger had left no clues whatsoever as to where she had gone to, but Malfoy knew that she was safe wherever she was, provided she had a wand. She was one of the most talented, brilliant witches he had ever met.

He was relieved to find she was gone, but also slightly disappointed... would he ever see her again? Where was the witch who had always known what comment would hurt him the most? Where was the witch who had slapped him so ardently? She was strong, with or without her wand... and... Oh, her haughty looks...

Only McGonagall had suspected Draco's feelings for Hermione Granger. Draco always had the uneasy feeling that McGonagall knew how much Draco admired the one he pretended to loathe. And in a strange way, he had loathed... that she thought he was a low-life scumbag. He'd never tried to convince her otherwise, mostly because he knew he would never have the courage to talk to her unless he was the arrogant enemy.

Draco Malfoy shook his head to clear his thoughts and realised it would be better for him to return to Malfoy Manor. He did not want anyone to find him there, although the compromising evidence (the vial) was gone.

 **Battle of Hogwarts**

Draco Malfoy was desperately looking for his parents. He skillfully protected himself from all the spells flying about in the room, until he saw his mother at the other hand of the Great Hall, and momentarily lost his concentration. A spell, Draco didn't see where it came from, was coming straight at him. He heard a high-pitched scream, "NO!" and a powerful protective shield formed itself in front of him, just in time to make the spell bounce off and hit Fenrir Greyback, who was pushed away from Lavender Brown's body. Draco had the strange feeling that the person who had formed the protective shield knew exactly where the spell would hit instead. And he also knew one person who was so magically gifted as to be able to do such an adroit move. He moved towards his parents, and they hid while waiting for the issue of the battle. Draco was going through a very harsh inner battle. Surely, since everyone viewed him as an evil Death Eater, he would be attacked by those he meant to help, if he joined the battle. He would be of no use. But if there was ever a chance to redeem himself in a certain witch's eyes... it was now or never. He told his parents to remain hiding, swore that he would come back alive (he even assured his mother that he wasn't going to the Great Hall, where the majority of the battle was going on), and joined the battle. He saw Granger, skillfully sending spells at three Death Eaters simultaneously, her movements quick and graceful, her face showing deep concentration, her brown eyes fierce, her bushy hair flying about and an aura of magical strength radiating from her. Surely he could be in no danger close to such a witch.

But she did not have Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye... who was there to protect her back? Draco quickly went to stand with her and they fought. They were both fierce duellers and thus positioned, back to back, it seemed impossible that they should ever be vanquished. She was Dumbledore, he was Grindelwald... except that they weren't fighting each other, they were fighting together. And Draco was not scared. He couldn't be, knowing she was protecting his back just as ardently as he was protecting hers. It made perfect sense, as if a particularly intricate puzzle had just been solved. And suddenly, he could fully acknowledge his feelings for her. The denial he had been in for years, seemed to slowly drip off him, like murtlap essence. He loved her.

 _the three Malfoys, huddled together as though unsure whether or not they were supposed to be there... (p.745)_

The Malfoys sat huddled together, looking out of place, at a loss. Hermione met Draco's eyes and for a few instants, they just looked at each other. Unspoken emotions travelled between them. A loud bang occurred and they broke eye contact to see where it was coming from. Peeves had set off fireworks from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. When Draco looked back towards where Hermione had been just moments ago, she was gone. He looked around for her, startled. Narcissa hugged her son, knowing who he was looking for. Lucius also put an arm around his son, but he hadn't noticed Draco looking around. Instead of going looking for Hermione, Draco remained seated with his parents. All three of them enjoyed just being alive and together, albeit in an environment in which they felt unsure and out of place. Narcissa was extremely relieved to be reunited with her son, to know he had survived. However, she felt a small part of her heart contract at the thought of her sister Bella's death. What would Bella have said about Draco's... infatuation... with a... Muggleborn? How would Andromeda react to hearing of Bella's death? Narcissa felt the need to re-tie with Andromeda. Childhood memories came up... and then she remembered Kreacher, how he'd come to betray Sirius, calling her and Bellatrix, "Miss Cissy and Miss Bella", which were names that reminded her of her childhood.

Draco did not go to look for Hermione, because he had noticed that Ron and Harry were gone too. He assumed the three friends needed privacy to discuss things. And somehow he felt he had all the time in the world to talk to Hermione Granger (how he savoured thinking about her name) now... now that the danger of loosing her was over. Now that ... Tom Riddle, as Harry Potter had called him, had been defeated.

 **Later**

He came face-to-face with Hermione Granger. There was a short silence, in which they just looked into each other's eyes.

"You are a very talented duelist," Hermione said, with slightly rosy cheeks.

Draco's brain lost track of all coherent thought. He stammered something unintelligible and was reminded of Neville Longbottom when Professor Snape intimidated him.

Hermione looked down at her hands, still clutching her wand, then spoke again, "I'm sorry I misjudged you... I mean, I never considered you purely evil, but I surely didn't expect... the portkey..." She hesitated and fell silent.

Draco cleared his throat and fiddled with his robes nervously. How could this be more intimidating than the battle?

"The portkey was not... I mean... it wasn't all that heroic," Draco stammered. _What was he doing, trying to belittle one of the few good actions he'd ever done?_

Hermione shook her head, as if trying to clear her thoughts, "It was heroic. You took a big risk... but I must say, you took an even greater risk tonight by joining the battle."

Draco still looked scared and impressed by Hermione, but he managed a small, hesitant smile and said, "You saved me with your shield."

Hermione looked at him and he felt her question as clearly as if she'd said it aloud. _How'd you know it was me?_

"It was so quick, so powerful, so perfectly aimed..." Draco was not attempting to flatter Hermione, he really believed everything he said. And Hermione, although slightly surprised (like when Harry told Slughorn she was the best student in the year), could tell he honestly believed it. That felt heartwarming.

"Then..." Hermione left the question unspoken once more. _What you thought about Muggleborns...?_

As if by telepathy, Draco answered, "I never believed any of that stuff. Well... sort of, but that quickly changed when I first came to Hogwarts. The first year was... enlightening. Not just because of you - I could also tell from other Muggleborns that they were just as equally magically gifted. And realised magical potential was totally independent of whether the witch or wizard was muggleborn, half-blood or pureblood... I'm not stupid, I eventually formed my own opinion."

Hermione smiled, "I've always considered you highly intelligent."

Draco blushed. "You know... it frustrated me... the way you excelled in class... how could I impress you if you were so much better than me?"

Hermione smiled, "I wasn't much better and perhaps you would not have wanted to impress me had I not been... magically gifted."

Draco shook his head, "I wanted to impress you because I admired your quick-wittedness, your intelligence, your insight, the way you saw clear through me and knew how to annoy me best..."

At that, Hermione laughed. Draco smiled and continued, "... and your manipulative side - a quality that should have gotten you into Slytherin had it not been for your... loyalty and courage, which are Gryffindor traits." There was some bitterness in the last few words.

Hermione took his hand in hers and said, "You have demonstrated loyalty to your family and ultimately to the ideas you believed in, when you fought alongside me. It was also very courageous of you to help me flee, and to join the battle. Just because you are careful and prudent, does not make you any less loyal or courageous."

Draco really wanted to believe her, but some doubts still clouded his mind. Hermione saw it and sighed, "Cormac MacLaggen is in Gryffindor, and he was idiotic enough to have the 'courage' to follow through a bet. Yes, he fought at the battle, but his courage was coupled with stupidity and recklessness."

Draco smiled, "I heard about it. Ate doxy eggs, didn't he?"

They laughed in unison.

Hermione spoke, "I knew you were extremely intelligent... and cunning. And you bloody well knew how to get on my nerves as well."

Hermione's right hand was now intertwined with Draco's left.

They smiled at each other. Draco said, "I came across as an arrogant, spoiled brat. Which I don't deny... although a certain slap certainly brought some sense to me."

Hermione's smile grew wider, "I came across as a haughty, rule-obsessed, know-it-all. Which I don't deny... although a certain troll certainly brought some sense to me."

They looked deeply into each other's eyes. Brown to Grey and Grey to Brown.

"I can't believe I can actually talk to you... without having to pretend... I never thought I'd have the courage to blatantly ignore what my background wanted me to be... and to talk to you... without insulting you... without feeling inferior or jealous... because the way you look at me... makes me feel..."

Draco felt his knees go a little weak and he realised he was crying. Hermione spoke in a soft, soothing voice, although he also saw tears well up in her eyes and stream down her face, "We don't have to talk just now..."

And she kissed him. It was a soft, chaste kiss, but it sent both of their hearts pounding furiously against their rib cages. Neither of them wanted to break away from the kiss, they held each other tightly, as if fearing they would drown if they ever let go. The instant was more magical than anything they had ever felt or witnessed. It was like a fountain of Phoenix tears. It was the magic of love, as Dumbledore had called it. A magic that Squibs and Muggles can feel, but one that the dark wizard Tom Riddle, born from a 'love' potion, never felt.

The guilt Draco had felt suddenly lifted its oppressive weight from his heart, because he could feel that Hermione had fully forgiven him. The kiss got deeper, and they eventually had to break it, to gasp for air. They just held each other, their nose tips touching, looking into each other's eyes. It was wonderful.

"Draco."

"Hermione."

And then they walked away, hand in hand...


End file.
